Two weeks of foundation reconstruction training had taught Hunter what proper cultivation felt like: painful, slow, and involving zero heroics whatsoever.
Every morning before dawn, forty eight people gathered in the courtyard where frost grew more elaborate on stone with each passing day. They settled into meditation, closed their eyes, and endured what Liu Mei called "foundation reconstruction." Their meridians adapted through persistent discomfort that felt like spiritual acupuncture performed by someone who didn't believe in anesthesia.
The intervals increased gradually. Thirty seconds became sixty. Sixty became ninety. By the end of week two, most maintained proper circulation for two full minutes before their foundations protested.
Hunter hated the limitation more than the pain.
